With A Little Help From My Friends
by JSRobertson
Summary: Harry runs into trouble while visiting a friend. Will Lee and Chip get there in time to save him. This story takes place before Janet's arrival.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

A sort of WHN to " _The Machines Strike Back_." This story takes place before " _The Reason Why"_ and a year after Captain Bradley's death.

With a Little Help from My Friends

By JSRobertson

 _Seaview_ was on her way home from a supply restocking mission to several underwater laboratories. Once in port, there were no missions scheduled for a few weeks as she needed some work done on the reactor as well as some other routine maintenance.

Lee Crane, _Seaview's_ captain, and Chip Morton, the XO, had just finished dinner and were off duty but decided to meet in Lee's cabin to discuss what maintenance jobs should be completed first. Hand in his pocket, Lee stood behind Chip as he sat perched on the corner of Lee's desk. Chip had already poured a cup of coffee from the ever present pot on the desk and was getting ready to take drink when there was a rap on the door.

"Who's minding the control room if the two of you are up here?" the admiral asked with a smile as he entered the cabin. He missed dinner with the officers as he was in his cabin finishing up some paperwork and checking in with Angie.

Chip quickly stood up and put down the cup of coffee. "Sit back down, Chip," the admiral told him as he patted him on the shoulder and walked in front of Lee's desk.

"Lt. O'Brien has the conn until morning," Lee reported returning his grin.

"Good," the admiral said. "If I remember correctly, we have no missions scheduled for a few weeks."

"That's correct sir," Chip replied. "Lee and I were just going over the items we want maintenance to take a look at."

"Nothing serious I hope," the admiral said concerned.

"No, just routine maintenance on the reactor and some other minor items," Lee responded.

"How soon before we dock at NIMR?" the admiral asked.

"We should be docking around 1000 hours. I'm going to bring her into the underground facility," Lee told the admiral.

"Good idea," the admiral concurred. "Do you think you can do without me for a few days? When I checked in with Angie, she told me there was an official looking envelope from the President of Cordella, Mrs. Christina Ballard. I told her to open it up and read what was inside. It's an invitation to attend the dedication of a new school named for the Nelson Family."

"Cordella?" Chip questioned.

"It's a small country on the western side of Central America," Harry replied. "Edith has helped them in the past with raising money for their schools.

"Sir, I don't recall you ever mentioning the country or her before," Lee said curiously.

"We have an old family friend, Christian Ballard, who went with Edith on one of her trips down there. He was a teacher and they were in need of teachers to teach the children of Cordella so he decided to return there and help them out. I bet he's married to the President and since the school's being named in our honor they've invited me to attend. I wonder if Edith received an invitation."

"Admiral, when was the last time you spoke to Mr. Ballard," Lee asked worriedly.

Rubbing his forehead, the admiral replied, "It's been quite a few years but I think Edith has kept in touch with him since I believe she's still involved in fund raising for the schools."

"I have no plans for my shore leave, I'll go with you if you don't mind company," Lee suggested.

"No Lee, I'll be fine. I'll contact Edith and see if she received an invitation. She'll go with me," the admiral reassured them. "Have good evening and don't work too late." He walked out the door leaving Lee and Chip to finish their meeting.

Lee sat down at his desk and picked up his pencil. Chip returned to the corner of the desk with his coffee cup in hand.

"Lee, doesn't it seem strange to you that the admiral would be invited to attend an opening of a school he knows nothing about. As busy as she is, Edith always keeps him informed of anyone using the Nelson name," Chip remarked.

"I was thinking the same thing," Lee added. "Something just doesn't feel right to me."

As Chip finished his coffee, they decided what maintenance items needed to be done first. He put the cup on the tray and stretched. "See you in the morning."

"Okay," Lee replied not really paying attention to what Chip was saying.

Lee sat back in his chair when Chip left his office. He rolled his pencil between his hands wondering about this Christian Ballard and Cordella.

((()))

Once _Seaview_ docked and after the crew left the boat, only the admiral, Lee and Chip remained on board. The admiral went up the ladder in the control room with Lee and Chip following close behind. Once on deck, they walked down the gangplank and saluted the colors. Lee and Chip stayed to talk to the deck detail before the admiral walked to his car that had been brought down to the underground facility.

"Don't be too long," the admiral reminded the two men. "You **will** take your shore leave."

"Admiral," Lee said, "how are you getting to Cordella? Since I have no plans, why don't I fly you and Edith down there on FS-1? We'll fly to Boston and pick her up. I'll stay down there but will keep out of sight."

"Ahem," Chip cleared his throat. "I'll go with too."

"Lee, I thought you were going to visit your mother and Chip, you were going to Chicago to see your parents. I don't want you to spoil your plans. Anyway Christian is sending his private plane to pick me up. "When I get to the institute I'm going to call Edith to find out if she's attending the dedication."

"I'll take you to the airport," Lee volunteered.

"No thanks, Lee. I've already contacted Tommy to take me there. So carry on with your plans, please don't worry," the admiral replied, "but thanks for volunteering to take me."

"Yes, sir," they responded as they watched the admiral get into his car and drive away.

"Lee," Chip said but Lee didn't hear him as he was worried about the admiral. "Lee," he said a little louder."

"Sorry Chip, my mind was far away," Lee said distractedly.

"He'll be fine," Chip assured him. "Let's get some lunch before going to the office."

"Okay," Lee answered as they walked up the stairs to the parking lot and their cars. They stopped at the diner for a quick meal and returned to the office. They checked in with Wanda, who gave them all their messages. Sighing as they took them, they both knew it would be a long afternoon.

After spending all afternoon looking over the mail and answering his messages, Lee stood up, rubbed his hand on the back of his neck and walked out of his office. He went to the admiral's office wanting to talk to Angie.

"Hi Lee," she said when he walked in. "I talked to the admiral and he said the mission went off without a hitch."

"Yes, everything went fine," Lee replied, "Is he still here?"

"No, he dropped his briefcase in his office, looked at his messages and the invitation from the President of Cordella. He was pretty excited about it."

"Did he call Edith...have you ever heard of this Christian Ballard?" Lee asked.

"Yes, he did call her but was unable to talk to her right now as she's in a country without cell phone service and wouldn't be available for the next five days. I vaguely recall him mentioning him a few years ago," Angie responded looking at Lee with a puzzled look on her face. "Is there a problem with him going?"

"I don't know. I guess I'm just over reacting."

Angie looked at Lee and knew him will enough to see he was worried but she wasn't sure why.

Lee left Angie's office and returned to his, sitting down at his desk. It was 1800 hours by the time he was ready to leave for the day. Wanda and Angie had left a couple of hours earlier. Lee shut down his computer, grabbed his jacket and cover and went to Chip's office.

"Ready to go? I'm beat," Lee said to Chip who was just turning off his computer. He took his jacket and cover from the closet, turned off his lights and joined Lee in the waiting area.

"Up for some dinner, my treat," Chip told Lee.

"No, not really. Can I have a rain check?"

"Sure, anytime," Chip replied as they headed to the elevator and took it to the first floor where Howard signed out the two men and wished them a good evening.

((()))

The admiral parked his car in front of his house. He had called Sally, his housekeeper, and told her his plans so she would have his suitcase ready for him when he got home. She was in the kitchen getting lunch when he arrived.

"I've put your suitcase in your room, sir," Sally told him. "Would you like me to help you?"

"No I'll take care of it. Since I'm going to be gone for a few days, you don't have to be here so enjoy the time off," Harry told her.

"Thank you sir," Sally replied as she put his lunch on the table.

Harry finished lunch and went to his room to pack his suitcase for the trip. He had just finished packing when Sally told him that Tommy was here for him. Harry handed his suitcase to Tommy and followed him out to the car. Tommy put the suitcase in the trunk and got in the car. He stopped briefly at the security gate before proceeding to the airport. By the time Harry arrived at the Santa Barbara airport, the small jet sent to pick him up had just landed and was taxiing to the gate. He boarded the jet and was amazed at how luxurious it was. He settled into a seat for the six-hour flight as the co-pilot checked to make sure he was buckled in and secured the cabin door before they took off.

((()))

By the time Harry arrived in Cordella, it was early evening and he was hungry and tired. He was met at the gate by John Mandow, President Ballard's top aide.

"Welcome to Cordella, Admiral. I'm John Mandow, I hope you had a nice flight," he said to Harry as he took his suitcase from the co-pilot and placed it in the trunk of the waiting limo. "It's only a short ride to the president's residence."

The driver opened the door for Harry who slid into the back seat while John walked around to the other side of the limo and sat next to Harry. "Mr. Ballard is looking forward to seeing you and has dinner planned once you're settled."

"Thank you, Mr. Mandow," Harry responded.

"Please call me John," Mandow told Harry as they made their way out of the airport.

Harry looked out the window and admired the beautiful countryside as they drove to the presidential residence located on the outskirts of the capital city of Citella. Once at the residence, the driver opened Harry's door and he alighted from the limo. John walked around to Harry as the driver removed his luggage from the trunk and handed it to the man waiting by the car who took it into the house. As they made their way up the steps to the residence, the front door opened and Christian Ballard met them.

"Harry, it's so good to see you," Christian said eagerly shaking Harry's hand. "I'm sorry my wife, Christina, isn't here to greet you. She's attending an important conference in another country but will be back in time for the dedication."

"Same here Christian," Harry replied. "I'm looking forward to meeting your wife when she returns. Very nice place you have here."

"Thanks, Harry. You must be tired and hungry. I'll have John show you to your room where you can freshen up for dinner. Is thirty minutes enough time?"

"Yes, that will be fine," Harry answered as they entered the large foyer. Straight ahead was a large wall of windows that looked onto a garden with a fountain and patio. On the left side of the foyer was the dining room. Next to it was a small hallway that led to the kitchen and then a large carved staircase that led to the second floor. On the right side of the foyer was a large living room with floor to ceiling windows that also overlooked the garden.

"I'll meet you in the living room where we can enjoy a drink before dinner. You still drink Glenlivet?"

Surprised that his friend remembered his favorite drink, Harry smiled and replied, "Yes."

"Right this way, sir," John said as he led Harry up the staircase to a well appointed room on the left side of the hallway. "If you need anything just let me know and I will see that it is taken care of."

"Thank you John. Everything looks good," Harry said noticing his suitcase was already set up on a stand. He found the large bathroom and he freshened up. He returned to the bedroom and looked out the window which had a view of the ocean as well as the garden. Yawning as he removed his clothes from his case, hung up what needed to be hung and placed the rest of the items into one of the drawers in the large chest. He returned downstairs to the living room where Christian was waiting for him.

"Feel better?" he asked as he handed Harry a tulip shaped whiskey glass filled with the amber liquid.

"Yes, much better," Harry replied as he took sip of his drink. "Is Edith attending the dedication of the school?"

"I haven't heard from her yet but I hope so as the dedication wouldn't be the same without her. Why don't we go outside to the patio? I hope you don't mind eating dinner out there as it's such a beautiful evening."

"No problem," Harry answered as he followed Christian out to the patio and sat down at the table where there was a tray of appetizers. Harry was hungry so he helped himself to some shrimp and mushroom caps.

"How's the institute doing...and _Seaview_?" Christian asked as he took a sip of his drink.

"Very well," Harry replied proudly. "We have quite a few contracts for _Seaview_ and research developments that we're working on at the institute."

"How are the schools doing...are you still teaching?"

Smiling, "No I don't teach any more...I'm now in charge of running them. Just like most schools, we're short of money but with the help of Edith and her fund raising we managed to build a new school," Christian responded and quickly changed the subject back to the institute before Harry could ask any more questions.

Finishing up his drink, Harry asked, "When and where is the school and dedication taking place? I can only stay a couple of days as I've got some items I need to review with my officers before our next mission."

"We'll talk about that tomorrow," Christian said to Harry as a woman brought out their dinners and poured them another drink.

After talking for another hour, Harry was having a hard time stifling his yawns. "I'm sorry, Christian but I'm afraid I'm going to retire for the evening. It's been a very long day."

"I understand Harry," Christian replied. Both men stood up and returned to the house. Harry went to his room while Christian entered the living room where John was waiting for him.

"Do you think he suspects anything?" John asked.

"I'm not sure. He did ask about the school and dedication but I put him off until tomorrow."

"You can't stall too much longer as the premier is getting anxious for the information."

"I know don't worry, we'll have it before the deadline," Christian reassured John. John nodded and left the room leaving Christian standing by the windows. _I hope,_ he thought as he finished his drink and retired to his room.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Harry got ready for bed and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. He woke up the next morning at 0630 his normal waking time. He took care of his morning ablutions, dressed in a pair of blue pants with a short sleeve light blue shirt and trotted downstairs thirty minutes later. He was met at the bottom of the stairs by John.

"You're up early, sir," John said to Harry as he looked at his watch.

"I never sleep in," Harry responded with a smile. "Must be the Navy in me."

"I'm sorry to say that breakfast won't be ready for another thirty minutes. President and Mr. Ballard always dine at 7:30 but I believe there's coffee ready."

"Coffee would be wonderful," Harry answered as the two men walked into the dining room just as the woman who served them dinner last night was putting out the carafe and cups. She quickly poured the two men a cup and left to finished making breakfast.

"Excuse me, sir," John said taking his coffee with him, "I have some business to take care. I'll see you later."

"No problem," Harry answered as he took a drink of the coffee. _Not bad but definitely not strong enough_ , he thought. He walked over to the windows that looked out over the front porch of the house just as the sun was coming up over the trees. He finished up his cup of coffee and went over to the sideboard and poured himself another cup as Christian entered the dining room.

"Good morning, Harry. I hope you slept well," Christian said cheerfully.

"I slept just fine. Thanks." Harry replied as he continued to drink his coffee.

"Breakfast should be served shortly," Christian told him as he sat down at the head of the table and motioned Harry to sit to his left. "I hope you like eggs benedict. I had Lisa, my cook, make it especially for us."

"Whatever you're serving will be fine."

Lisa entered the dining room with breakfast and placed the plates down in front of the men. As they were eating breakfast Christian spoke up, "Harry I thought I would show you around the city. It has some nice museums, galleries and gardens I think you might like to see."

"Sounds fine, it looks like it's going to be a nice day and I wouldn't want to spend it indoors. I spend enough time under the sea that fresh air is a luxury," Harry quipped.

Christian smiled back, "We'll leave as soon as we finish breakfast. I'll have John bring the car around."

The two men finished up their meal and made their way to the front of the house where the car was waiting for them.

"Would you like me to drive you?" John asked.

"No, I'll be fine," Christian answered as the two men got into the car. "We'll have lunch in the city."

"Yes sir," John answered. "Have a good time."

Christian left the grounds and headed towards the city. Harry was looking at the countryside and houses that lined the street as they drove into the city. Once in the city, Christian parked the car in front of the library.

"We'll start at the library and then walk to the other sites. I hope you don't mind walking?"

"No, not all," Harry replied as he looked at the library. He was very anxious to check it out.

Christian had to drag Harry out of the library so he could show him the museum, art gallery and the gardens in the park. Harry enjoyed the rest of the tour and was happy when Christian suggested they have lunch before returning to the presidential residence. They dined at very nice restaurant noted for its seafood. They finished up lunch and walked back to the car.

"Thanks for the tour and lunch," Harry said to Christian as they drove back to the house. "I'm very impressed at what your city has to offer the tourists.

"Yes, we do have a nice downtown section. Most of the people come for the warm weather and beaches," Christian agreed.

"I was hoping you would take me to the school so I could check it out before the dedication."

"Sorry Harry, but I promised Christina I wouldn't show you the school until she returned and I don't want to make the president angry," Christian replied with a smile.

"I understand," Harry answered a little disappointed.

"I'm afraid I have some work that I need to finish, so you'll be on your own this afternoon."

"Don't worry about me I'll just walk around the grounds if that's okay with you."

Hesitating for a moment, Christian replied, "No problem."

Christian entered the gate to the residence and parked the car by the front door. The two men got out of the car and were met by John.

"Did you enjoy the tour of the city?" he asked Harry.

"Yes, it was very nice," he replied as they walked into the house.

Christian and John left Harry in the foyer while they went into Christian's office next to the living room. Harry headed up the stairs to his room. Since he had some time to kill he would try calling Lee and see what was happening at the institute.

((()))

Lee was sitting at his desk when his phone rang. He looked at the caller ID and saw it was the admiral calling.

"Hello sir," Lee said quickly "Is everything okay?"

"Yes Lee, just fine. How are things there?"

"Fine also," Lee replied. "Have they held the dedication...did Edith call?"

"No, not yet as President Ballard is out of the country right now but should be returning by tomorrow. I haven't heard from Edith and either has Christian. Hopefully she'll just show up."

Lee was surprised to hear that but asked, "When will you be returning?"

"Not for a few more days. I'm enjoying the nice weather and sites. I'll call you before I leave."

"Okay sir. Have a good time. I'll talk to you soon," Lee answered as he heard the admiral disconnect the call.

Lee sat at his desk and rubbed his forehead. Something was still nagging at him but he couldn't figure out what it was. He left his office and went to the admiral's to let Angie know he wouldn't be returning for a few more days. He then went to Chip's office and sat down in front of his desk.

"Problem Lee?" Chip asked seeing perplexed look on his face.

"No. Just talked to the admiral and he's not returning for a few more days. He said he's having a nice time."

"So what's the problem?"

"Just that nagging feeling something isn't right," Lee sighed. "How about some lunch?"

"You don't have to ask me twice," Chip replied and stood up. He and Lee walked out the door of the office and to the elevator after letting Wanda know they were going to lunch.

((()))

After Harry finished his phone call with Lee, he decided to take a walk through the gardens. He walked downstairs, out to the garden and found a path that led to the beach. He strolled along the beach for awhile before turning back. Just before he reached the path to return to the house, he saw a small boy trying to skip stones across the water. He noticed he wasn't having much luck so he walked over to him.

"Not doing to well skipping those stones are you?" Harry asked with a smile.

"No sir. I just don't know what I'm doing wrong," the boy replied with a frown.

"Let me show you. What's your name?" Harry asked as he looked around for the right sized stones.

"Larry," the boy answered. "My mother is Lisa. She cooks and cleans for Mr. Ballard."

Harry noticed that he didn't seem very happy that his mother worked for his friend.

"First in order to skip the stone properly, you need flat stones," Harry explained as he showed Larry the stones he picked up from the beach. "Then you need to toss them across the water," he continued as he showed him how it was done. Harry gave Larry a stone so he could try.

Larry took the stone from Harry and tried to toss it like he did but didn't have much luck. Harry gave him another stone and helped him toss it. It skipped across the water four times. Larry found a few more stones and before long had the stones skipping across the ocean.

"Thank you, sir," he said to Harry.

"No problem," Harry responded as he patted Larry on the head and started walking back to the house leaving him skipping stones. He came across another path he didn't see when he started his walk on the beach. He was going to take it when John came down the original path.

"What's down there?" Harry asked as he started down the path but John blocked the way.

"That path is never used as it leads to the basement. There's nothing down there but a few rats and bugs," John told him. "Mr. Ballard has finished his work and sent me to get you for dinner. Sorry if Larry was a bother," he continued as he saw Harry with Larry before he met up with him. "There's not a lot for him to do here so he can be a bit of a pest."

"He was no bother at all. I enjoyed showing him how skip the stones," Harry replied noticing the disgusted look on John's face.

The two men walked back to the house where Christian was waiting for them.

"I hope you had a good walk," Christian said.

"Yes, very good," Harry responded, "you have a very nice beach and dock but I didn't see any boats."

"Yes, the beach is nice. The dock has been there for years. We don't own any boats but our friends do so they will use the dock. How about we meet for dinner in ten minutes?"

"I just need to wash up and I'll be right down," Harry told Christian. He wanted to ask him a few questions about the dedication. Harry went up the stairs to his room while Christian and John stood at the bottom and watched him go up.

"I stopped him just before he went down the path to the basement," John told Christian. "He was quite curious about what was down there."

"He's getting a little comfortable here but that's going to change tonight after dinner," Christian said to John as they wandered into the dining room where he poured himself a drink. He stood at the window looking out over the porch.

((()))

Harry quickly washed up and returned to the dining room where Christian was waiting for him. As they sat down to another delicious dinner Harry asked, "Christian when is the dedication going to be held as I need to return to Santa Barbara?"

Christian looked at him and smirked, "Harry, there isn't going to be a dedication. I brought you here because I need some information from you. Give me what I want and you can return home. If you don't..."

Harry quickly stood up. "I don't know what you want but to bring me down here under false pretenses must mean you want information I can't and won't give you."

Christian snapped his fingers and a huge burly man walked into the dining room. "Harry, I don't want to hurt you but I will stop at nothing to get what I want."

The man walked over to Harry and pushed him back into his seat and stood next to him.

"I need you to give me the command signal sequence for the drone submarine defense systems. Vice Admiral Halder failed to complete his mission so I've taken it over," Christian explained to Harry.

"You've taken it over?" Harry asked surprised as he didn't know Christian was involved with Halder.

"It's now my project and I need that information. You'll not leave here until I get it," Christian threatened.

"Christian, I'll never give you that information. Besides that, after what Halder tried to do, the command signal sequences have changed and it takes more than one person to activate it."

Frustrated that Harry wouldn't give him the information, Christian spoke to the man standing next to Harry, "Brad, take him away and see if you can persuade him to cooperate. John, go with him."

Brad grabbed Harry by the arm and led him from the dining room. Brad outweighed Nelson by a hundred pounds and was six inches taller, but he struggled anyway to get away from him. They took him past the garden and down the walkway to the beach. They took him to the path John had stopped Harry from taking earlier.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Larry was skipping stones on the beach when he saw Brad and John dragging the man with red hair out of the house. He quickly hid in the bushes and watched as they took him down the path to the basement. He had been down there one time and couldn't wait to get out of there. It was dark and dirty. He waited until the men were out of sight before he ran back to the house where he found his mother cleaning up after dinner.

"Mom, they took the man with red hair to the basement," he told her out of breath.

She looked at him with tears in her eyes, "Yes, son I know but you can't say anything to anybody or they'll hurt you. Promise me, Larry, promise."

Seeing how frighten his mother was, Larry reluctantly replied, "Yes mom." He left the kitchen and went to his room above the garage.

((()))

Once in the basement, the men led Harry to a dimly lit cell with a dirt floor and boards attached to the bars closing it off from the hallway. Brad punched Harry in the face splitting his lip. Harry could taste the saltiness of his blood as it ran into his mouth. The man then attacked Harry's stomach and ribs pummeling him with punches. Harry fell to the ground curling in a ball trying to ward off the kicks to his back and head. He finally passed out from the pain.

"Stop," John told Brad as he continued to use Harry as a punching bag. "He won't do us any good if he's dead. Maybe this will convince him to talk. Let's go."

John and Brad left Harry lying on the floor and locked the door to the cell. "If that doesn't change his mind, we'll have to use other means to get him to talk," John said as they walked away leaving the light on.

((()))

On the other side of the wooden wall, a woman sat on a small bed. The wall wasn't very thick and she could hear them beating someone. When she heard them lock the cell door, she removed her pillow from up against the wooden wall in the corner. She had managed to gouge a hole in the wood with a knife she kept when they served her dinner a few nights ago. She could make out the form of a man curled up on the floor. She heard him moaning and groaning in pain. She continued to watch him until he managed to sit up. She saw his face was badly bruised and bloody. She wondered who he was and what Christian wanted with him.

"Psst," she said through the hole. "Over here by the corner."

Harry heard something but wasn't sure if it was real or his imagination. He hurt all over and had a hard time finding a comfortable position to sit in.

"Psst, in the corner." The sound was louder this time. Harry managed to crawl to the corner where he heard the noise.

He looked in the corner and saw a hole with an eye looking at him. "Who are you?" he asked quietly as he caught his breath.

"My name is Christina Ballard. I'm the president of Cordella and Christian's wife. Who are you?" the woman's voice asked.

"Harriman Nelson," Harry said softly gritting his teeth against the pain as he talked. "I'm a friend of Christian or at least I thought I was."

"I've heard him speak of you. He brought you down here to get some information from you. I take it you didn't give it to him."

"No, why are you down here...you're out of the country at a conference?" Harry asked confused.

"Christian imprisoned me and took over running the country when he got involved with the People's Republic. Ever hear of them?"

"Yes, I've heard of them," Harry replied with a wry grin. "But why put you down here?"

"I wouldn't go along with him on what he wanted to do. If there's paperwork that needs to be signed or I'm needed at a function, I'm allowed out. He'll let me out once he gets the information from you. Please give it to him. I can't stand it down here anymore. Please," Christina begged.

"Christina, I can't give him that information. The whole world would be at risk if I did," Harry said softly. "I'm sorry."

"You know he'll torture you until you break or even kill you," Christina answered unhappily.

"Yes, I'm well aware of that but I'll never give up the information."

Christina sighed deeply, "I figured you wouldn't talk. We'll just have to find a way out of here."

"I'll try to think of some way," Harry responded. "Right now I need to rest."

"Okay, I'll try think of some way too," Christina replied sadly.

Harry rested his back against the wall and fell asleep. Christina put her pillow back covering the hole and laid down on the bed with tears running down her cheeks. She was afraid she would never get out of this prison.

((()))

The next morning, Harry woke up and every muscle in his body hurt. His lip was swollen and his eye was only partially opened. He figured he had a couple of broken ribs as any breath he took caused him considerable pain. He needed to use the facilities and noticed a bucket in the corner of the room. After taking care of his business he made his way back to the hole in the wall hoping to talk to Christina. He could hear Christian talking to her through the wall. He couldn't quite make out what they were saying but he could hear her arguing with him about letting her out.

He heard the door slam shut on her cell and before too long the door to his cell was opened. Christian and John stood there looking at him.

"You sure don't look very good," Christian said with no emotion. "Are you ready to talk?"

"Never," Harry replied bracing himself for another beating.

Looking at John, Christian said, "You know what to do next." He walked out of the cell and left John there with Brad who was waiting outside.

Brad grabbed and jerked him by his arm causing Harry to cry out in pain. John handed him a white jumpsuit. Sewn to the bottom of the jumpsuit were white socks and on to the arms were white gloves, "Put this on," John ordered.

Harry just looked at him having no intention of doing what he ordered. John lost his patience and punched him the stomach taking Harry's breath away. "If you won't do it, I'll have Brad put the clothing on you and he won't be gentle."

Harry realized he had no choice so he took the jumpsuit and struggled to get into it as he was having a hard time moving. Once in the jumpsuit, Brad handed him a pair of white slippers which Harry put on.

"Follow me," John told Harry as he led him from the cell. Harry took notice of the room next to his figuring Christina was locked in that cell. The walls were also covered in wood so you couldn't see into it.

The trio walked to the end of the hall where they went down some more stairs to another room. John opened the door to the very small room painted all white with a single low wattage bulb and no windows. There was a small cement bed and bucket. John pushed Harry into the room.

"Here's your new home," John said snidely. "At least until you talk."

"I'll never tell you the sequences," Harry replied defiantly.

"Suit yourself," John answered and shut the door to the room.

Harry looked around the cell. _There's a small hole at the top of the door where they can watch me but I can't see them,_ Harry thought as he took a deep painful breath and gingerly sat down on the hard bed. His ribs hurt as well as his back where Brad had beat him. He fell asleep but was awaken by the unlocking of the door. Brad walked in dressed in white with slippers on his feet. He handed Harry a white paper plate with white rice, and a white fork. _Maybe I can ask him what time it is._ "Brad..." Harry started to say but Brad ignored him, said nothing and left. _I guess it must lunch time as they brought me something to eat._ _It's sure hard to eat with these gloves on._ When he finished eating he put the plate on the floor. _I'm feeling a little better maybe I can find a way out of here._ Harry tapped on the wooden walls looking for a hollow spot but didn't hear any nor could he tell if there were bars on the other side of the walls. _Man, it's chilly in here,_ he realized as he sat back down on the bed and wrapped his arms around his legs to ward off the chill.

((()))

After Christian left Christina, she went to the back of the cell, took the pillow away from the hole and looked in. She could see Brad hand Harry a white jumpsuit. She had no idea what Christian was planning to do with him. She could see Harry was still in pain. She saw them remove him from the cell but didn't know where they were taking him. She wanted to help him but the only way she figured she would be able to help him would be when Christian let her out but who knows when that would be. Sighing deeply, she sat back down on the bed.

((()))

Harry heard the door being unlocked again. _I have no idea what time it is...I need to know._ "Brad, please tell me what time it is," Harry begged. Brad ignored him, put his food down and left. _What's with the white rice, white paper plate and fork. I know they have better food than this,_ he thought.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Lee had not heard from Harry since he called him the second day he arrived in Cordella and that was three days ago. When Lee got to work, he grabbed a cup of coffee and sat down at his desk. He tried to call Harry but it went directly to voice mail. After an hour, Lee saw Angie walk by his office.

"Angie," Lee called getting up from his chair and met her at the door to her office. "Have you heard from the admiral?" he asked worriedly.

"No Lee, I haven't and I'm a little worried as he always checks in," she replied noticing Lee looked worried too.

"I tried his phone an hour ago and it went directly to voice mail."

"Do you want me to try and reach him?"

"No, I'll try again in a few minutes," Lee answered as he rubbed his hand through his hair.

"Okay, Lee. Please let me know when you reach him."

Lee nodded his head and returned to his office while Angie continued on to hers. She put her things away and took a deep breath. She had a feeling something was very wrong.

((()))

Lee sat down at his desk and tried the admiral's phone...it went to voice mail again. He looked at his computer and logged on to the internet and typed in the search line 'country of Cordella'. He searched the entire Cordella website looking for information regarding the dedication of the new school. _Maybe not front page news but a new school is something the country would be proud to show off,_ he thought. "Shit," he shouted out loud.

Chip was getting a cup of coffee and heard Lee so he went into Lee's office. "What's up?" he asked seeing how mad Lee was.

"We haven't heard from the admiral in three days. I called his phone and it goes directly to voice mail. So I decided to check the Cordella website to see when the dedication was going to be held," Lee replied. "Come here on look what I found."

Chip went over to Lee's computer. "Lee, I don't see anything regarding a dedication of a school. You'd think they would want people to know about it. This isn't good," Chip responded.

"I know," Lee said and got up from his desk. "I want to see that invitation." He and Chip walked to Angie's office.

"Angie, do you have the invitation to the dedication? I would like to take a look at it."

"Sure Lee," Angie replied and pulled out of a file on her desk and handed Lee the invitation. "Is there a problem?"

Lee looked over the invitation and had to admit it looked legitimate. Chip looked it over as did Angie and didn't see anything wrong with it. Frustrated and worried Lee and Chip returned to Lee's office.

"Did you try calling Edith? Maybe she knows something," Chip asked.

"No, I was just going to when you came in. She's been out of the country and unreachable for a few days," Lee answered as he dialed her number. The phone rang four times before she finally picked it up.

"Edith," Lee said tensely, "How are you?"

"Hi Lee...fine and you?" she replied sensing something was wrong by the tone of his voice.

"Okay. Edith, did you get an invitation from Christina Ballard, President of Cordella, for a dedication of a new school with the Nelson name on it."

"No Lee. What are you talking about? I've been out of the country but did manage to get through all the mail there was no invitation to Cordella from anyone."

Sighing Lee replied, "That's what I was afraid of. Harry was invited there by Christina Ballard for a dedication of a new school with the Nelson name on it."

"Lee, I assume she must Christian Ballard's wife. I heard he had gotten married but I didn't know it was to the president. I used to help raise money for the schools but when I asked for a report on how the money was being spent, he couldn't give it to me so I stopped helping him. Cordella is a small country but doing well due to the tourist industry which is another reason why I haven't helped him. Is Harry in trouble?"

"I'm not sure but we haven't heard from him in three days."

"What do you want me to do...go down there?"

"No Edith, stay put. Maybe he's having a good time and will call back when he gets my messages," Lee told her not wanting to worry her. "I'll let you know when he calls."

"Thanks Lee," Edith responded softly and hung up the phone.

Chip looked at Lee as he slammed his phone down on the desk. "She hasn't heard from Christian in quite a few years and didn't get an invitation. She stopped helping raise money for the schools when he couldn't account for how the money was spent. I'm going down there. He can be pissed at me for checking up on him," Lee said tersely.

"When do we leave?" Chip asked as he could tell by the look on Lee's face he wasn't going to be able to stop him.

"As soon as I can make reservations," Lee told him as he looked up flights on the computer and found there was one leaving that afternoon.

"How soon can you be ready as there's one leaving in four hours from LAX...first class only," Lee told Chip.

"As quickly as you can," Chip responded and watched as Lee secured two seats for that flight and two hotel rooms.

The two men prepared to leave with Lee stopping at Angie's desk to let tell her what Edith told him and that they were leaving for Cordella immediately.

"If we run into trouble," Lee said, "I'll call and have you dispatch Chief Sharkey and Dr. Jamieson in FS-1. Could you ask Tommy to pick us up at my condo for the drive to LAX?"

"Okay, Lee," Angie answered dialing the number for Tommy, "but please let us know what's happening."

"You know I will," Lee replied as the two men left the institute grounds.

((()))

Chip dropped Lee off at his condo and continued on to his. They had approximately thirty minutes to pack as it was a two-hour drive to LAX. Tommy was waiting at Lee's condo as soon as Chip pulled into his driveway.

"Thanks, Tommy," Lee said as they both got into car and barely had the doors closed when Tommy started to drive away. Angie must have told him they were in a hurry.

((()))

They made it LAX with no problems only to be delayed on the ground for weather. They were finally airborne after leaving two hours late. They landed in Cordella at 2100 hours and got their luggage. While Chip hailed a taxi, Lee checked his phone for messages. "Damn," he muttered under his breath when there were none. He started to tell the taxi driver to take them to the president's residence but Chip stopped him.

"Lee, it's too late to go there. If there is a problem, we wouldn't be able to help the admiral as we don't even know where we are. Why don't we wait until morning, a few more hours won't make a difference. I don't know about you but I'm tired and hungry."

Lee rubbed his hand on his forehead. "You're right Chip. Let's get to the hotel and get something to eat. We'll leave early in the morning. Please take us to the Sunset Beach Hotel," Lee said to the taxi driver.

The driver loaded their luggage and drove away from the airport dropping the men at the hotel in the downtown area. Lee paid him and they walked into the lobby and checked in. The hotel was a little older but had all the modern amenities. Both men freshened up and found a small restaurant down the street. Once they had their meal, Chip paid the bill and they returned to the hotel. "See you in the morning about 0700?" Chip said to Lee.

"Sounds good," Lee responded as he went into his room. He sat down on the bed and checked his phone once again for messages. He got ready for bed but had a hard time falling asleep as he sensed the admiral was in trouble.

((())

 _I can't stand not knowing what day it is...what time it is,_ Harry screamed out loud but no one heard him. _I'm tired of pacing...I can't sleep...I need to talk to someone besides myself...and no more white. I'm going to break if I stay here any longer_.

Christian stopped to see Christina on the evening of the third day. "What did you do with the man in the cell next to me," she demanded.

"How do you know there was a man in the cell?" Christian asked tersely.

"These walls are thin, I heard you talking to him but I didn't hear him answer. Where is he?"

"You don't need to know that," Christian replied nastily. "Just mind your business if you know what's good for you. I _can_ make you and your sister disappear." He slammed the door on the cell leaving her standing there wondering what he meant by making her disappear.

He and John walked further down the hall and down the stairs to the room where Harry was and found him sitting on the bed. "Ready to talk?" Christian asked Harry.

"No," Harry replied knowing that two sequences of number were needed. He knew that the other set of numbers were safely stored in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

"Suit yourself;" Christian replied curtly, "I already have the other numbers. I found the person who was in charge of keeping the numbers and put him down here. He talked after being here for a few months. You'll eventually give me the numbers," he said harshly, "or lose your mind."

John slammed the door closed leaving Harry standing there shocked that Christian had the numbers. _Or was he just telling me that to get me to talk,_ Harry thought as he tried to run his hand through his hair but the gloves made it hard to accomplish that. He started pacing again. He was afraid he was already losing his mind.

"Why did you tell him you have the numbers," John questioned Christian and his motives.

"You know that and I know that but Harry doesn't know that's true. It puts a doubt in his mind that maybe he should give them up to get out of his prison," Christian replied arrogantly as the two men returned to the main house.

Christian went into the living room and poured himself a drink. _He'll break_ , he thought smugly seeing the look of disbelief on Harry's face when he told him he had the other set of numbers. He downed his drink and went upstairs to bed.

((()))

Lee woke up early, quickly took a shower and dressed in a pair of jeans, blue shirt and deck shoes. He went to Chip's room and knocked on his door. Chip met him at the door in a t-shirt and shorts.

"Lee, its only 0600, I thought we were meeting at 0700," Chip said as he rubbed his hand over his face.

"Sorry I was ready so I thought you might be ready," Lee replied guiltily.

"Come in and I'll get ready," Chip responded as he opened the door. Lee walked in and went over to the balcony and waited while Chip showered and dressed.

"I'm worried too," Chip assured Lee as he paced in front of the balcony door. "Any messages?"

"None," Lee answered. "Let's get some breakfast and see what we can find out."

Chip locked the door to his room and the men took the elevator to the lobby. They walked outside and saw a fast food restaurant down the street. Lee pointed to the place, "Okay with you?"

"No problem, their coffee is hot and strong," Chip said as they walked to the restaurant and ate breakfast. When they were finished they walked back to the hotel and hailed a cab.

"The presidential residence, please," Lee said calmly.

"Yes sir," replied the driver.

It was a short ride to the grounds where the president's house was located. The driver drove through the unlocked gates. Lee and Chip looked at each amazed that you could drive right in.

The two men got out of the car, "Please wait," Lee said to the driver.

"Yes sir," he responded, "it's your money."

Lee and Chip walked up the stairs to the front door and rang the bell.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

It was a little before 7:30 when Christian entered into the foyer. "Did you check on Nelson?" he asked John as he met him on his way into the dining room and motioned him to join him for breakfast.

"Yes, he was pacing the room in a circle and it didn't look like he got much sleep and he didn't eat dinner either as the plate of rice was still there."

Lisa brought out Christian's breakfast and saw John sitting there so she brought him out a plate. As they sat there eating, Christian noticed a taxi had pulled up in front of the house. "Are you expecting anyone," Christian asked as Lee and Chip exited the taxi."

"No, why" John asked not seeing the taxi or the men.

"Two men just pulled up in a taxi and are walking up to the front door. Answer the door and see what they want," Christian told John.

John put down his fork and removed the napkin from his lap and made his way to the front door just as the bell rung. He opened the door and stared at Lee and Chip.

"Hello," Lee said pleasantly. "We're friends of Harriman Nelson and wondering if we could talk to him. He's not expecting us but we decided to visit him while he's staying in Cordella."

Just as John was about to reply, Christian walked over to the door. "Please come in. I'm Christian Ballard and this is John Mandow." Christian stood aside letting Lee and Chip into the foyer.

"I'm really sorry you came all this way but Harry left a couple of days ago. He said he was going to visit his sister and tell her about the dedication since she was unable to attend the event."

With surprised looks, Chip responded, "Sorry to bother you. We didn't get that message. Thanks for your help."

"No problem, gentlemen," Christian said cheerfully, "enjoy your stay in Cordella."

"Thanks," Lee mumbled as Christian opened the door and showed the two men out.

Lee and Chip returned to the cab. The driver left the grounds of the house and pulled out into the street. "Where to now, gentlemen?" he asked.

"Is there access to the beach from the road?" Lee inquired.

"Yes sir. Just a couple of miles down the road there's public access for boats and swimming."

"Take us there," Lee instructed the driver.

As they drove past the house, Lee looked it over. He knew that Christian was lying about the admiral not being there. He had to get back into that house and find him.

The driver turned off the main road and drove down a long road to the beach access where he dropped off Lee and Chip. Before Lee paid him he asked, "Why weren't there any gates or guards to stop us from entering the grounds at the president's house?"

"The president, Mrs. Ballard, believes the house belongs to the people and wants them to visit her and her husband. She's a very outgoing person and the country is thriving under her guidance. Too bad she's married to the guy who answered the door. He seems to think he's in charge and not her," the driver volunteered.

"Thanks for your help," Lee replied and paid the driver giving him a generous tip.

Lee stood on the beach staring out at the ocean. Chip knew he was formulating a plan to get Harry back.

((()))

Christian and John returned to the dining room and stood at the window watching as the taxi drove away.

"Damn," Christian said, "Did you destroy all of Nelson's belongings?"

"Yes sir," John answered. "I burned them the other night."

"What did those two really want...Harry didn't say anything about have friends here."

"We'll need to make sure the entrance is guarded twenty fours hours now that his friends have arrived. I got a feeling we haven't seen the last of them."

Resting his hand on his head, Christian answered, "You're right. I don't think they bought my story. I'll check to see if I can find out who they are. If they're friends of Harry, they might work at his institute." He took out his phone, sat back down at the table, looked at his breakfast and decided he wasn't hungry anymore. He pushed the plates away as he waited for the NIMR website to come up. It didn't take him long to find out who they were. "The dark haired one is Lee Crane, captain of Harry's sub _Seaview_. The other man is Chip Morton, the XO on the boat."

John looked at the pictures of the Lee and Chip on the website. "I see trouble," he commented.

"I agree. Now that they've arrived we're going to have to step up our plan to get those numbers. I was hoping to keep Harry down there a little longer but I think he's beginning to crack," Christian said letting out a deep breath.

"Let's go outside," Christian said not wanting to talk in front of Lisa who he knew was in the kitchen cleaning and waiting for them to finish. "Lisa, clean up this mess," he ordered as she promptly returned to the dining room as Christian and John walked out. She heard them talking to the two men that had come looking for the red haired man. She knew where he was and would try and help them find him.

The two men retreated to the patio when Christian's phone rang. "It's the premier," he told John as he answered the phone.

((()))

Lee and Chip walked down to the shoreline and noticed they could see the back of the house from the beach. Lee guessed it would be at least a mile walk the house. Neither one of them were dressed for the beach and hot weather.

"Lee, what are you thinking?" Chip asked as he rolled up his sleeves and wiped the sweat off his forehead with his sleeve.

"The admiral is still there. Did you see the look on their faces when I said we're friends of Harry and he wasn't expecting us? They were surprised that we knew Harry was there. Let's walk to the house and see if we can't get in there," Lee answered as he also rolled up his sleeves.

Chip wanted to go back and change but knew Lee wouldn't go without checking out the house first. They walked down the beach which wasn't very crowded at that time of the morning. They weren't too far from the house when they came across a boy skipping stones on the ocean.

Lee stopped to talk to him. "Hi there, I'm Lee and that's Chip," Lee said as he pointed to Chip, "you're doing a great job of skipping those stones."

"Thanks. I'm Larry. The man with the red hair showed me how to do it."

"A man with red hair?" Chip asked raising his eyebrows.

"Yes, he showed me how to skip them the other day before they took him down to the basement," Larry said as he picked up another stone.

"They took him to the basement?" Lee questioned as he stooped down to Larry's level.

"Yeah, he was trying to get away but Brad and John had him by the arms. Nobody gets away from Brad...he's big. Mr. Ballard was there too."

"Where's the basement?" Lee asked but before Larry could answer a woman's voice called to him from the back of the house.

"Larry, come here, I need your help."

"Sorry, gotta go. I have to do my chores."

"Hey Larry, can you keep a secret?" Lee inquired as he started to walk away from Lee and Chip.

"Sure, I can. I keep a lot of secrets."

"Please don't tell anyone you saw or talked to us. We're going to surprise the men at the house."

"No problem," Larry answered and ran towards the door where the woman stood waiting for him. Lee was watching him all the way and noticed he took a path to the back door of the house.

"Well we know Harry didn't leave," Chip said frowning.

"We'll just have to find him," Lee remarked as he continued walking to the house wiping the sweat out of his eyes.

Lee and Chip made it to the back of the house and looked around for an entrance to the basement but only found the path that Larry used to get to the house. The sides of the path were overgrown with tall bushes and shrubs. If Lee hadn't watched Larry enter the path, they would never have found it. They started down the path and came to a fork. "Let's stay to the right and see where that takes us," Lee said to Chip as they continued walking. They were almost to the end of it when they heard voices talking ahead of them. "I bet they're on the patio," Lee whispered to Chip who nodded his head. The two men crouched down behind some of the overgrown shrubs and listened to what the men were saying.

((()))

Yes sir," Christian answered, "Mr. Premier, I'm very close to getting those numbers. I realize you need them to set off the drones. I just need a couple more days. Okay," he said as he hung up the phone. "Shit, we only have until tomorrow to get the information or he's going to make us pay. We have to get the number sequence for the drones tonight. Damn, Alex Halder for getting us into this. If he hadn't screwed up, we won't be in this mess."

"We?" John replied sharply, "He was your uncle not mine. You left me no choice but to help you, threatening to turn me in for stealing from the school's funds," he said disgustedly. "What if Nelson doesn't crack...what the hell do we do?

"If we don't get the numbers, we'll kill Harry and disappear. We'll go where no one can find us," Christian replied.

"Let's try and get the numbers from him now," John suggested. "This way we have more time to get away."

"No let's wait just wait a little longer," Christian said maliciously. "He needs a little more time down there. We'll start putting an escape plan into place just in case he doesn't talk."

The two men entered the house and went into Christian's office just off the living room.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Lee and Chip stayed crouched behind the bushes a little longer before Lee ventured out after not hearing any voices.

"Well at least we know why they kidnapped the admiral. They want the drone sequence numbers to set off a war. I bet the premier is the head of the PR," Chip said uneasily. "The admiral must have told him that they need two sets of numbers."

"Knowing the admiral he did but I'm worried about how they're going to get him to talk. What have they done to him or going to do to him?" Lee remarked unhappily. "Come on," he said urgently as he started to walk back down the path, "we have to find the entrance to the basement."

Chip grabbed Lee's arm, "Don't you think we should get some backup? We're already outnumbered and if Brad is as big as Larry said he is; we could be in trouble. I'm worried about the admiral too but if we get caught what good will we be...nobody knows where we are."

"Chip, I know we should have backup but there's no time...they're going to kill him...we don't know when. It could be in an hour, two hours, or three hours. I'm not willing to take that chance. Even if we called for backup, Sharkey wouldn't get here for at least three hours. We have to move now. But I do realize we need someone here to help us _after_ we get the admiral out. I'll call Sharkey and have him bring FS-1 here. I'll tell him to bring Jamie too. Will that satisfy you?"

"Yes, and we'll have a way home," Chip replied as they walked away from the house to make the phone call. Lee didn't want to be heard talking in case Christian and John decided to make their move now.

((()))

Lee dialed the institute office first so he could let Angie know what was taking place.

"Lee," Angie answered when she saw his number. "Do you have the admiral...is he okay...when are you coming home?"

Taking a deep breath Lee replied softly, "No Angie we don't have him. Ballard made up a story telling us that he left for Boston to see Edith. We know that's not true so we're going to look for him but we're going to need help. Call Med Bay and have Jamie meet Sharkey at _Seaview_ as they'll be taking FS-1. Tell him he better be fully equipped since we don't know what condition the admiral is in. I'll call Sharkey and tell him."

"Okay Lee. Please let us know when you find him," Angie said her voice quivering.

Lee disconnected with her and dialed up Sharkey's phone.

"Hi Skipper," Sharkey said when he picked up. "Enjoying you shore leave?"

"No Chief, I never got to take it. The admiral's in trouble and I need you to fly FS-1 down here with Dr. Jamieson."

"Sir, where is here and what happened to the admiral?"

Lee explained where they were, why the admiral was in Cordella and that he and Chip were going to rescue him. After he finished, he gave Sharkey some instructions. "The president's house is located not too far from the capital city which is near a harbor. I want you to fly a little north of there but stay submerged. I don't want to alert anyone you're here. I'll call you when I need you."

"But sir, why don't you wait until we get there. I'll be able to help," Sharkey insisted.

"Chief, we don't know when they're going to implement their plan and I'm not taking a chance on waiting. Mr. Morton and I will be fine." Lee disconnected the call before Sharkey could respond.

"Damn, they can get into bad situations without trying," Chief muttered after Lee hung up. He drove to NIMR and _Seaview_. Jamie was waiting at the dock by the time Sharkey arrived. When he saw all the gear Jamie was bringing, he recruited Patterson and Riley, who were on guard duty, to help them load the gear and prepare FS-1 for launching. They both wanted to accompany him but Sharkey told them there wasn't enough room for all of them.

Once Sharkey and Jamie were aboard _Seaview_ , Sharkey pulled a map from the plotting table making a note on where they were going. He called Trish at the communication center and gave her his flight route in case there was a problem. He would find out where the harbor was once he was close to Cordella.

After all the gear was loaded, Sharkey and Jamie boarded FS-1 and strapped in for the three-hour flight. "Pat, all green?" Sharkey asked into the throat mike.

"Aye Chief, all green and ready to launch," Patterson replied.

"Okay launch," Chief answered and waited for the docking doors to open. He slowly guided the small sub out the doors and headed to the surface.

Patterson closed the docking doors and he and Riley headed back topside to finish their guard duty.

((()))

Chip felt a little better that back up was on its way but still frustrated, "We don't have any guns or weapons to stop them."

Lee looked around the area and picked up two large thick branches from a fallen tree. He took a knife from his pocket and cut away the small twigs making a clean club. "These worked for the cavemen, we'll have to make them work for us," he said with a wry grin.

Chip returned his grin, not surprised that Lee had a knife on him, took one of the branches and followed Lee as they looked for the path that led to the basement.

((()))

Lee and Chip returned to the original path looking for one that would lead to the basement. They walked a little way down the path when Chip stopped and moved some of the brush away from another path. He whistled to Lee who was ahead of him. Lee backtracked to where Chip was standing.

"I bet this is the path," Chip whispered.

Nodding his head, Lee whispered back, "I'll go first. We know there's a guard down there so be careful."

"Okay, Lee."

Lee cautiously started down the path coming to a stairway leading underground. "Chip, stay here until I signal you it's okay to come down. No sense both of us getting hurt or killed,' Lee told him as he headed down the stairs. He got to the bottom and was surprised to find there wasn't a guard until he saw a huge man come down the hall. He spotted Lee and charged him pushing him into the stone wall. Lee banged the back of his head on the wall causing him to see stars. The guard took a swing at Lee and connected catching him in the jaw. Lee pushed him away and managed to get a punch in but the guard was unfazed. The guard had his hands around Lee's throat when he saw the guard's eyes suddenly rolled back into his head and fall to the ground. Chip had clobbered the guard on the back of the head knocking him out.

"Thanks bro," Lee said as he stood there catching his breath and rubbing the back of his head checking to see if there was any blood. "Larry wasn't kidding when he said he was big."

"You okay, Lee" Chip asked seeing a nice bruise forming on his friend's check and small trickle of blood coming out of his nose.

"I'm fine," Lee answered as he rubbed his jaw making sure it still worked and wiped away the blood. "He just got a lucky punch."

What Lee and Chip didn't know was the guard landed on his radio triggering the button to the 'on' position. John had left his radio in the dining room after breakfast and never returned for it. Lisa heard the static and wanted to help whoever was in the basement so she turned off the radio and hid it in a cabinet so Christian and John wouldn't find it.

Lee and Chip walked further into the basement and noticed the boarded up cell. Lee tried the door and found it unlocked. "Stay out here while I check inside," Lee said to Chip.

Lee slowly opened the door to the cell and found it empty. He looked around and saw some clothing lying on the floor. "Chip, come in here," he said as he walked over to the clothes and picked them up. "These are the admiral's clothes."

"Yes but where _is_ the admiral?" Chip asked worriedly. "Let's drag the guard's body in here so whoever comes down here will think he's gone."

"Good idea," Lee concurred as the two men dragged the body into the room. There was sheet on the bed, so Lee ripped it into strips and tied up the guard's hands and feet and then applied a gag.

Christina heard the commotion in the cell so she went to the bed and pulled the pillow away from her hole. She looked in the cell where she saw Brad tied up and two men. One of the men looked hurt. _Maybe they're friends of Harry_ , she thought and would take the chance they would help her escape. "Psst," she said through the hole.

Chip looked away from Lee. "Did you hear that?"

"Yes, where did it come from?" Lee wondered as Christina tried again to get their attention. She took a chance and whispered through the hole.

"I'm back in the corner...there's a hole in the wall...please come over," she pleaded.

Lee and Chip walked to the back corner and saw the hole in the board and an eye looking back at them.

"Who are you?" Lee whispered. "Do you know where Harry is?"

"I'm Christina Ballard, president of Cordella. My husband Christian locked me up in here, please get me out."

"Okay, give us a minute," Lee responded as the two men left that cell and went to the next one. Lee noticed the lock on the door and took his set of lock picks from his pocket as Chip just looked at him.

"A good spy never leaves home without his tools," Lee said sheepishly as he picked open the lock on the door.

As they opened the door, Christina was waiting for them. "I don't know who you are but thank you for opening the door," she said happily. "What happen to Brad?"

"Madame President, I'm Lee Crane and this is Chip Morton. We work for Harry," Lee told her. "Brad lost the fight and is locked up in the other cell."

"Please call me Christina and have you found Harry?"

"Yes ma'am and no we haven't found him. We were hoping you could tell us where he was," Lee said as he stood part way in the cell and the hall. Chip stood behind him making sure no one was coming.

"Christian took him away a few days ago. I don't where. I'm sorry," she said sadly.

"Why are you locked up if you're the president?" Chip asked.

Christina explained, "Christian's uncle, Alex Halder, failed on his mission with some drones. I'm not sure what those even are. Anyway, Christian was using the money he got for the schools for other things. He got caught and was going to go to prison when these men showed up and paid back what he took but they now wanted something from him...information on these drones. I refused to go along with him so he put me down here. I've been down here for several months. He only lets me out for official business but nothing more."

"If you're the president, why don't you have him arrested," Chip asked tersely.

"Easier said than done as he's holding my sister hostage somewhere in the mountains. That's all I know," Christina replied angrily. "I won't do anything that would jeopardize her life."

"I'm sorry, we forgot that you're also a victim here," Lee said apologetically. "We're just worried about Harry."

"I'm worried about Harry too. And he isn't the only man Christian brought down here. When they brought me dinner one night, I kept the knife and carved out a hole in the wall so I could see what they were doing. I peered through the whole and saw him. He was dressed in a blue uniform and I watched them beat him up pretty badly. They were asking him about some numbers while he was there, but he never talked. They took him away before I could ask him why he was here. When they put Harry in the cell, I was able to see and talk to him."

"Did they beat up Harry?" Lee asked worriedly.

"Yes, from what I could tell they beat him up pretty badly. I don't know how he even managed to talk to me as I could tell he was in a lot of pain."

"Damn," Lee said sharply.

"Can I please get out of here," Christina begged. "I can't take it anymore."

"We need to find Harry first. If we let you out, they'll know we're here. I promise we'll let you go as soon as we find Harry," Lee told her.

"I'll stay but please come back for me," she implored. "I don't want to do anything that will put Harry or my sister in more danger."

"I promise we'll come back," Chip reassured her. "We won't lock the door but please stay put."

Just as Lee and Chip were closing the door they heard a gunshot from another part of the basement. They ran to the other end and found another set of stairs.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Christian and John were in Christian's office packing up the items they were going to take with them. All of a sudden Christian's radio was filled with static. He tried to clear it but couldn't get a clear channel.

"John, check your radio and see if you get the same static," Christian said. John looked in the living room but didn't hear or see it. He remembered he left it in the dining room. He ran to the dining room and looked on the buffet table but it wasn't there. He was going to ask Lisa where it was when Christian called out.

"John, what's the problem," Christian yelled from the living room. "Forget about it. Something must be wrong in the basement. Let's go down there."

John was going to the patio door in the living room when Christian headed for his office so he followed him. John didn't know there was a secret door behind one of the bookcases. Christian pressed a button on the side of the bookcase and it swung open revealing a set of stairs.

Lisa was in the kitchen and saw John looking for his radio. She had a smile on her face when he couldn't find it. She waited until he was in the living room before making her way into the foyer. Once she saw him go into Christian's office, she headed into the living room. She peered around the door looking into the office catching Christian slipping through the door after John. She had accidentally found the secret door when she was cleaning the bookcase. She also knew there was a lock on the door. When Christian shut the door behind him, she went over to the bookcase and locked it. If Christian and John needed to come back into the office, they would have to use the outside entrance. _I hope this helps who's ever down there_ , she thought and returned to the kitchen.

((()))

John and Christian made their way down the dimly lit circular staircase. Once at the bottom, they went to the room where Harry was stashed. John unlocked the door and Christian went in. Harry had been sitting on the bed but stood up when the door was unlocked.

"Are you ready to talk?" Christian asked Harry.

"No," Harry replied defiantly.

"Well, you leave me no choice," Christian said and pointed his gun at Harry and shot him in the stomach.

Harry looked at Christian as he gasped in pain and fell to the floor.

"Let's get the hell out of here," Christian said to John as they headed back to the staircase and ran to the top. Once at the top Christian pushed on the door but it refused to open. "Damn," he yelled. "The door must have locked after us. We'll have to go back down the stairs and use the other exit."

John turned around and started back down the stairs but when he got to the bottom, he was hit in the hand with a club sending his gun flying across the floor. The last thing he remembered was being hit on the head.

((()))

Lee and Chip reached the stairs, ran down them and saw the door open to another room along with a staircase. They ran into the room and saw Harry lying on the floor. Lee ran over to him as Chip stood in the doorway.

"Lee, there's somebody on the other staircase," Chip said as he heard voices coming down the stairs.

"Wait at the bottom and see if you can catch them off guard. I'm going to check on the admiral," Lee told Chip.

Lee ran over to the admiral seeing his blood spreading across the white jumpsuit. He knelt over him and mumbled softly, "Please stay with me, Harry. I can't lose you too."

Harry opened his eyes and gave Lee a weak grin, "Son, you haven't lost me yet." He passed out as Lee unzipped the jumpsuit checking to see how bad the wound was and also noticed the bruises he received from the beating. He knew it was pretty bad and needed Jamie. He hoped Sharkey had arrived in the area.

While Lee checked on the admiral, Chip waited in a small alcove just off the bottom of the staircase. When John stepped off the last stair, Chip hit his hand causing him to drop his gun. John looked at Chip as he clobbered him with his club. John fell to the floor where Chip pushed him out of the way. Christian was half way down the stairs when he saw Chip hit John.

"Stop or I'll shoot and drop the club," Christian told Chip who complied with Christian's order.

Christian pointed the gun at Chip and motioned him to go in the room with Lee and Harry.

"You should have stayed out this...you leave me no choice but to shoot you too...they'll never find you down here," Christian said to Lee and Chip.

Lee was still kneeling next to the admiral as Chip stood alongside of him. Neither man moved as Christian took aim at Chip. Lee knew he wouldn't be able to shoot both of them so he could maybe knock him down before he could get off another shot. Christian pulled the slide back to chamber the round on his 45, when they heard a shot and he fell to the floor. Lee looked at Chip wondering what happened when Christina appeared in the doorway with the gun John had dropped.

"I'm sorry I didn't stay in the room like I promised," Christina told them as Chip took the gun from her hand. "I didn't want them to hurt you too."

"I'm glad you didn't listen," Lee said breathing a sigh of relief. "Chip, go outside and see where Sharkey is. Hopefully they're not too far away...the admiral needs Jamie."

"Okay, Lee," Chip replied as he went by Christina as she went and knelt down next to Lee and Harry.

"Nice shot," Lee said has he tried to stop the bleeding on Harry's stomach.

"I never told Christian my father taught me how to shoot a gun," Christina answered. "I'll go up and call an ambulance."

"Thanks," Lee replied continuing to apply pressure to Harry's wound. "Hang on Harry, help's on the way," Lee whispered but got no response back.

((()))

Chip ran up the stairs and outside only to run into Lisa who was coming down the path to the basement. He stopped, pulled out his phone and frantically called, "FS-1, come in FS-1."

"FS-1," Sharkey finally replied.

"Chief where are you...how soon can you be at the dock near the presidential residence?"

"Mr. Morton, I'm submerged about one hundred yards off the dock."

"Surface and make your way to the dock. I'll be waiting for you, make sure Jamie brings everything you can carry. The admiral's been shot and it's not looking good."

"Yes sir," Sharkey replied quickly, "we should be there in five minutes."

Chip continued onto the dock waiting for FS-1 to surface so he could help them tied down the little sub and grab some of the gear.

Christina came outside for the first time in months. She saw Lisa and ran over to her. "We need to call for an ambulance," she told her. Lisa quickly ran back to the house and made the call while Christina ran down to the dock and helped Chip, Sharkey and Jamie carry the supplies they unloaded from the sub.

They ran back down the path with Christina in the lead into the room where Lee was still by Harry's side. Jamie ran to the other side and checked Harry's vitals which weren't very good. He then examined the wound in Harry's stomach. "Lee, the bullet is still in there," Jamie informed them after finding no exit wound. "He needs to be in a hospital where I can operate on him." He went into one of the kits they brought down and applied a bandaged tightly to Harry's stomach trying to stop the bleeding. He also noticed the bruises to his ribs and face. "He's been beaten which isn't helping his condition," he stated angrily.

Christina chimed in, "There should be an ambulance on the way...it should arrive shortly since it's coming to the president's residence."

Jamie looked at Lee. "Jamie, this is Christina Ballard, president of Cordella," Lee said to him. "I'll explain later."

Sharkey and Chip picked up John who was just coming too and brought him to the room with Brad and locked him in there.

As soon as John was locked up, Lisa came down the stairs with the paramedics. Chip led them to the room where Harry was under Jamie's care. He had stabilized the admiral's condition as much as possible before having him loaded in the ambulance. Lee and Jamie jumped in the back.

"I'll see that the rest of your men get to the hospital," Christina told Lee before the ambulance drove away. "Follow me," she said to Chip and Sharkey as they ran up to the house and the garage. Lisa had gone ahead and grabbed a set of keys for the car where she met Christina at the garage and handed her the keys. "Thank you," Christina said to her as she took the keys. She quickly got into the car with Chip and Sharkey. By the time they got to the hospital, the admiral was already being prepped for surgery.

((()))

Lee was already pacing in the waiting room when Chip, Sharkey and Christina found him.

"Is Doc operating on the admiral?" Sharkey asked.

"No," Lee answered gruffly. "But he's assisting the surgeon."

Christina went over to Lee and put her hand on his arm. "He's in good hands, Lee. I know the surgeon personally."

Rubbing his hand on his forehead, Lee replied softly, "Thanks for all your help."

"I'm sorry Harry got involved in this mess with Christian," Christina told Lee. "Maybe if I had gone along with him, this wouldn't have happened."

"Please don't blame yourself," Lee told her as he patted her hand. "Christian would have found a way to get him down here anyway."

"Skipper, how about some coffee?" Sharkey asked not knowing what else to do.

"Good idea," Chip replied.

"I'll show him where the cafeteria is," Christina volunteered as she finally got to introduce herself to Sharkey as they walked away. She also wanted to check in with Lisa and make arrangements for Lee, Chip, Sharkey and Dr. Jamieson to stay at the presidential residence while Harry was in the hospital. He would also be staying there once he was released from the hospital. She also called the police and told them what had taken place at the house and where they would find Christian, John and Brad. She also asked them to find out from John where they had her sister and to go get her.

((()))

Chip sat down in a chair while Lee continued to pace. "Lee, you're going to wear out the carpeting."

"Sorry, Chip," Lee replied as he sat down next to him. "He just looked so pale...he lost a lot of blood."

"He'll be okay...he's a fighter," Chip tried to reassure Lee. He didn't know all the circumstances but knew that Lee had gotten very close to the admiral since the death of Captain Bradley.** He knew they were more than just friends.

"I know," Lee sighed.

"Can I ask you something?" Chip asked nervously. "Why was the room where they had the admiral all white...he was wearing a white jumpsuit with gloves...everything was white even the plates and forks."

"It's called 'white torture'," Lee responded quietly. "It's a form of emotional and physiological torture. Instead of beating the person, electrocuting them or keeping them in a small box, they are tormented with sensory deprivation and isolation.*** There is no sound...no contact with other people...no color. They use it to get you to confess or break. Sometimes it can take a few days or months. Different people break at different times. They know enough about you to control you. They can make you believe the president resigns, or someone you trust has told them lies about you. You can admit to things you've never even done just to get out of there. You begin to break...and once you break...they have control."

Chip looked at Lee but didn't have to ask how he knew what it was. By the look on Lee's face, he knew he was very familiar with it probably from one of his ONI missions. Lee and Chip sat there quietly until Christina and Sharkey returned with coffee for all of them. They sat down next to Chip and waited for the doctors to come out and let them know how the admiral was doing.

** See the story " _The Reason Why_ ".

***White torture - Listverse and hrw websites


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Harry's three friends and Christina had been sitting there for over an hour. Lee got up and started to pace again when he saw Jamie and another doctor walking towards the group.

"Jamie, is he alright?" Lee asked urgently meeting him before he got to the rest of them.

"Yes Lee, he'll be fine. This is Dr. Dave Farris, he operated on Harry. No damage done to any of the major organs. He'll need to stay in the hospital for a couple of days and I'm not going to let him fly home for a few more days," Jamie reported to Lee and the others.

"Thanks, Jamie. We'll make arrangements for hotel rooms for him as well as you and Sharkey," Lee said.

"No, you won't," Christina piped up. "I've made arrangements for all of you to stay at the president's residence. There's plenty of room and Lisa is getting things ready right now."

"We can't impose on you," Lee replied honestly.

"I'm the president of Cordella and I demand you stay there," Christina insisted. "You're not going against my wishes are you, Mr. Crane?"

"No ma'am," Lee answered with a grin. "We'll be happy to stay there."

Lee turned back to Jamie and Dr. Farris, "Can we see him?"

"Give us a few minutes to get him settled in his room and we'll see how he's doing and if he's up to visitors," Dr. Farris said to Lee.

"I'll come and get you," Jamie told Lee knowing he would find his way into the admiral's room anyway.

Christina turned to Lee and the rest of the men, "I need to return home, I will send a car to pick you up when you're ready to leave."

"Thank you Christina," Chip replied. "Chief, see to it that Mrs. Ballard gets to her car and here are the keys to our hotel rooms. Would you mind getting the Skipper's and my luggage and bring it to the house?"

"Sure thing sir," Sharkey replied and escorted Christina out to the car. She insisted they stop at the hotel and pick up the luggage before she returned home.

((()))

While Lee and Chip were waiting to see Harry, Lee called the institute and told Angie what had happened to the admiral and that they would be staying in Cordella for a few more days. Angie told Lee she would let Edith know that the admiral was going to be okay. Lee had just finished his call when Jamie approached them.

"He's still sleeping but you can look in on him, but please don't wake him and you can only stay for fifteen minutes."

The two men quickly stood up and followed Jamie to the admiral's room. They sat down in the chairs and waited for him to awaken. They had only been sitting there for a few minutes when he started to stir. Lee and Chip stood up and went to his bedside. He opened his eyes and closed them again re-opening them to find Lee and Chip standing next to his bed.

"Christina, is she alright" Harry asked as he tried to sit up and realized that was a mistake and laid back down.

"She's fine," Lee assured him. "We just wanted to make sure you're okay before we left. Jamie's only letting us stay for a few minutes. You need your rest."

Harry took another look at Lee, "Are you two okay?" noticing Lee's bruised jaw.

"We're fine," Chip said as Jamie walked into the room.

He checked over the bandage on Harry's abdomen and other vitals. "Harry, you need to rest. Lee and Chip can come back tomorrow," Jamie told him as he pushed the two men out of the room. He looked at Lee's face.

"You okay, Lee," he asked as he ran his hand down his jaw checking to see if it was broken.

"I'm fine," Lee replied quickly brushing Jamie's hand away.

"I'm hungry and tired," Chip piped up, "How about we get some food and return to the president's house."

"I'm not hungry and I'm going to stay with the admiral tonight," Lee stated matter-of-factly.

"No you're not," Jamie answered back sharply. "We're all going to the presidential residence tonight, no exceptions."

He ushered the two men towards the door where they ran into Sharkey who had brought the car back to pick them up.

"Ready to go? Mrs. Ballard ordered me I'm to bring you right back to the house. Dinner will be on the table when we get there and I'm not going against the wishes of the president," Sharkey reported.

The three men smiled as they left the hospital. "She sure can be pushy," Lee muttered to Chip as they returned to the house and got ready for dinner. Lee and Chip got to see Larry again and thanked him for helping them find the admiral but did have a few questions for Christina as to how the door got locked at the top of the staircase after Christian and John went down it.

Lisa was serving dinner when she heard Chip ask Christina about it. "I locked it," she said surprising all of them. "I accidentally found that secret door when I was cleaning the bookcase. I opened it and looked down the stairs but never went all the way down there. I noticed when I closed it there was a lock on it. So when John went to look for his radio, which I hid, I followed him back to the office. After he and Christian went down the stairs I locked the door. I knew if someone was down there, Christian and John would have to get by them and they would stop Christian and John. I wanted to let you out Miss Christina but they threatened to hurt Larry so I couldn't do anything."

Christina got up from the table and gave Lisa a hug. "Thank you, Lisa. If you hadn't locked them down there, I might have never gotten out of there and Harry, Lee and Chip would have been killed. Besides, I never knew that there was a secret door."

After they finished dinner, everyone was exhausted as it had been a long and stressful day so Christina showed them to their rooms. She was also very happy to return to her room after being locked up. She enjoyed looking out the window seeing the moon and stars.

((()))

Harry was released from the hospital two days later and Christina made sure he was settled in his room on the main floor before she left for an official meeting downtown. She left instructions with Lisa to make sure he didn't get out of bed. Jamie smirked at Harry when Lisa made him lay back down when he did try to get up.

After two days, Harry had been taking short walks around his room and the main floor of the house. He had joined Christina and his men in the dining room for lunch but he wanted to talk to Lee alone, so after lunch he had Lee help him walk out to the patio. They sat there for awhile before Harry decided he wanted to take a walk down the path to the dock.

Lee helped Harry up and they slowly made their way down the path and to the dock. Harry stood at the end watching the waves lap against the dock.

Since they were alone, Lee used the admiral's first name, "Harry, is everything alright?"

"I almost broke," Harry said quietly. "I couldn't stand the silence...I just wanted words...I screamed and no one heard me. Do you know why Christian lured me down here?"

"Yes, Chip and I heard John and Christian talking on the patio about how they took over from Vice Admiral Halder only he was selling the information to the PR. The Premier wanted the information the day he shot you. After Christian killed you, they were hoping to disappear believing the PR would never find them," Lee replied seriously.

"Christian said he had the other set of numbers. Was that true or did he just tell me that so I would break?"

"From what Christina told us, yes, it's possible he got the other numbers as he brought a man down there before you, he beat him up and took him away. I presume they used the 'white torture' on him and he broke. We should know more once John has been interrogated."

"Shit," Harry swore, "If I had given him my numbers..."

"Harry, you didn't so don't worry about it."

Harry turned to Lee and looked him in the eyes. "You know exactly what I'm going through don't you?"

"Yes sir, I do. It's almost better to be beaten or tortured in some other way as you can escape into unconsciousness and not worry about breaking," Lee replied frankly.

Harry turned and started to walk back towards the path, "How did you find me?"

Lee smiled at Harry as he answered, "Larry. I tried calling you for three days and you never returned my messages so I got worried and checked out the country of Cordella. I know a school dedication isn't front page news but it is something to be proud of and I couldn't find a damn thing about it on their website. I knew something was wrong so Chip and I flew down here. I was willing to take my chances at you being pissed with me if I was wrong. Chip and I paid a visit to Christian who made up some cock and bull story about you leaving after the dedication to tell Edith about it since she couldn't come. I checked with Edith and she knew nothing about a dedication. After we left the house, we went down to the beach and saw Larry skipping stones across the water. He was doing a great job and we asked him where he learned how to do it, he said a red haired man showed him how and that he saw them take you into the basement. So Chip and I went into the basement where we ran into Brad."

Harry stopped at the end of the dock, "Is that where you got the nice bruise on your jaw?"

"Yes, he got a lucky punch in until Chip hit him with his club."

"Club?" the admiral asked curiously and started up the path.

"We had no weapons, so I found a couple a thick tree branches, cleaned them up and we used them as our weapons," Lee admitted.

"Well, they worked," Harry replied amused at Lee's resourcefulness. "Please continue."

"After we found the cell you were in, we heard a noise from the back of the room. We went to the back and found the hole Christina a carved in the wood. She told us who she was and asked that we get her out. I picked the lock and she told us you had been there as well as the other gentleman. We were going to take her out when we heard a gunshot. We found the room where you were but no one was there and no one got by us. Chip saw the staircase and heard Christian and John on it but the door had been locked by Lisa. John came back down the stairs only to be knocked out by Chip. Christian returned to the room where you were and was going to shoot both Chip and I when he fell to the floor. Christina had found John's gun and shot him."

By the time Lee had finished telling Harry what had transpired they were back at the house. Christina along with Chip, Jamie and Sharkey were somewhat worried since they had both disappeared without letting anyone know where they had gone.

"I needed to talk to Lee alone," Harry told them as he sat down on a chair in the living room. "I'm lucky to have old friends and new friends looking out for me. I guess everyone at sometime will need a little help from their friends."

((()))

After spending four days with Christina, Jamie okayed Harry to fly back to Santa Barbara. The men had packed their belongings and brought them down to FS-1 so they could stow them aboard. Sharkey took out the small remote control and tapped in the code to bring her to the surface. Larry stared in amazement as the little yellow sub rose out of the water.

"Larry, would you like to see the inside of her?" Lee asked knowing Harry wouldn't mind.

"Yes Mr. Lee. Could I please?" Larry replied excitedly.

Once everything was stowed aboard, Lee picked up Larry and handed him to Sharkey through the back hatch. Christina and Lisa stood on the dock hoping they could see the inside too. Harry noticed the looks on their faces.

"Lee, I think you have two more people who would like to see her too," Harry said smiling.

Lee made sure the two women had no trouble getting through the rear hatch and he and Chip joined them before Harry and Jamie would board.

Lee told them that Harry designed and built the flying sub which impressed them even more. He showed them the controls and explained to them how they worked. Lee started her engines much to the thrill of Larry. Lee helped them off the sub and onto the dock. Chip also returned topside while Jamie went to prepare the bunk for Harry.

"Thank you for you all your help and hospitality," Harry said to Christina as he gave her a hug. "If you're ever in Santa Barbara, please stop in and say hello. I'll give you the grand tour of the institute. That goes for you too Larry, Lisa."

"It was a pleasure to meet you Harry. Please come back and visit us," Christina replied giving Harry, Lee and Chip a quick peck on the cheek. Harry tousled Larry's hair before he boarded the sub.

Chip helped Harry board FS-1 and wasn't happy he would have to be strapped into the bunk for the ride home. When Lee came aboard, he secured the rear hatch and sat down in the pilot's seat while Chip strapped into the co-pilot's seat. Jamie gave Lee the okay that Harry was strapped in, he belted himself and Lee slowly eased FS-1 away from the dock. He piloted out into the ocean before going airborne after being cleared the tower at the airport. He could see the three people on the dock waving to them as he flew over the president's house.

((()))

Even though Harry protested being in the bunk, he fell asleep about an hour into the flight. Lee submerged into the channel at NIMR a couple of hours later and docked her in _Seaview._ Once the docking doors were closed, Kowalski and Patterson opened the hatch and helped the admiral out of the sub. Jamie had arranged for a car to bring the admiral to Med Bay where he would spend the rest of the evening.

Angie and Wanda were waiting on the dock when they brought the admiral out of the _Seaview_. Both of them were glad to see that he was okay as well as the rest of the men. They went with him to Med Bay and stayed until Jamie kicked all of them out.

Lee was the last to leave. "Good night Admiral," Lee said quietly. "I'm glad you're back safe and sound."

"Me too, son and thanks for coming to get me," the admiral answered gratefully.

"Anytime sir," Lee replied with a smile as he left the admiral's room.

The End.

 **Notes:**

Thank you to everyone who read the story. I hope you enjoyed it. A special thank you to everyone who wrote a review.

 **Author's Notes and Credits:**

" _The Machines Strike Back"_ – Written by John and Ward Hawkins, Directed by Nathan Juran, original airdate was December 12, 1965. Source: "Seaview" a 50th Anniversary Tribute to Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea written by William E. Anchors, Jr. and Frederick Barr

 _Thank you Christy for your invaluable help._


End file.
